Microsoft products now available

July 15, 2009

Duke University's recent agreement with Microsoft makes downloads of office software and upgrades to commonly used operating systems available free to individuals and organizations across campus.

Under the agreement, which Duke and Microsoft must renew annually, MS Office—including the 2007 edition for PC and the 2008 edition for Mac—is available for download in an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) version. This means that you do not need to have an earlier version of Office on your machine prior to downloading the new software; as long as the agreement between Duke and Microsoft remains viable, Duke faculty, staff and students will be able to upgrade to the latest version of Office by downloading it from the OIT site.

Upgrading your operating system

Microsoft operating systems (OS) are also covered under the agreement, but only when the machine already has an MS operating system installed. You will be able to upgrade to Vista, for instance, if you have an earlier version of Windows on your machine. In fact, OIT recommends that you purchase new equipment with the least-expensive version of Windows available, and then upgrade the OS here at Duke.

There are two technical exceptions to the requirement that the machine must have an MS operating system installed:

  • You can buy a machine that has no operating system at all, only a Microsoft Windows "key"—the electronic proof from Microsoft that the machine is eligible for an "upgrade" to one of its operating systems under an agreement like Duke's.
  • Apple OS X qualifies for the upgrade under this agreement, so you will be able to install a Microsoft OS on your Intel-based Mac and use programs available only for Windows when necessary.

Downgrades are available, too

Also of note is that downgrades are possible under this agreement. If you buy a new computer with Windows Vista OS already installed, for instance, you will be able to replace it with an earlier Microsoft OS. The agreement will cover the much-anticipated Windows 7 when it is released, so you will be able to upgrade any machine with a Microsoft (or Mac OS X) to Windows 7 eventually.

Microsoft software not covered under the campus agreement is covered under a separate Microsoft Select agreement, which makes programs like Visio and MS Project available at greatly reduced prices.

How to get Microsoft OS and Office on your machine

Simple installations (upgrades to a Microsoft OS on a PC or addition of Windows to a Mac running OS X, or installation of the latest versions of MS Office) can be done via download from the Software section of the OIT site. More complex installations—upgrades to multiple machines in a department or school, or upgrades to server operating systems, for instance) will be handled by local IT support. Contact your local IT support team for more information, or contact the OIT Service Desk if you're unsure where to go.

Faculty and staff should note that use of the Microsoft OS and MS Office at home is OK, but there are distinctions based on what you're doing:

  • If you're working at home on Duke business, on a computer used primarily for Duke business, you'll need to buy keyed media (disks packaged with their own installation code) from the Duke Computer Store, but you (or your department) will pay only for the cost of the disks; the cost of the software itself is covered under the agreement.
  • If you want to use the Microsoft products on your own computer for personal business, you'll buy disks from the Duke Computer Store under the Microsoft Select program. The software isn't free in this case, but it's still substantially less expensive than retail.

When in doubt, ask your local IT support team for help.

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